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Friday, 30 January 2015

This is perfect timing, it's snowing outside as I'm typing this. It's another week of inspiration from CASE-ing Christmas and our last week of candy so come and join us for a chance to win.
I bought some Brusho ink powders before Christmas but have only had time for a little play until now, I really would like some more colours, this coupled with a new Tim Holtz Sizzix Snowflake die worked out well.
I cut the snowflake from the centre of the white pearl card and set it aside while I painted the background. There are many things you can do with Brushos but I chose to sprinkle Ultramarine on to damp card. The component colours split and give blue, turquoise and purple as it hits the wet card, I could watch this happen all day. I used the plain side of the card so I could save the pearl side for the snowflake. To add sparkle I spritzed with a clear mica spray.
This snowflake is not symmetrical, as I discovered when I flipped it over to the pearl side and tried to put it back in the hole. No problem, just cut another one the other way up, that way my snowflake is plain and my background is pearl. I'll just have to make another card later with the spare bits.

The Sizzix die comes with an embossing folder so you can add texture to your flake. Once embossed on the pearl side it looked good but not quite good enough, so I added some clear glitter to the ridges to make it sparkle.
I put the snowflake back in the hole it came out of once the paint was dry and stuck it down. The corners looked as though they needed a little something but nothing to take away from the main flake, so I added some tiny clear gems.
It's not exactly a one layer card, I had to put the decorated layer on to a card blank to finish off. If I had tried to colour a card blank this way I think it would be everywhere inside and on the back as it's a slightly messy, but great, process. The die cut is inlaid so the only height is the tiny gem. There is no greeting on the outside as I want to keep the background effect clear.
Mynn's original card has a snowflake and some blue on it so that was my starting point but I must admit I really wanted to play with the die and the Brushos, I hope you like it.
Come and join us at CASE-ing Christmas this week, you might be one of our lucky candy winners.

Monday, 26 January 2015

Hello and welcome to my next project using Pickle the cat from Creative Expressions, I thought I would make a tag this time.
I began with a plain white tag and used shaving foam and Cosmic Shimmer Mica Sprays to marble the tag. You can find a small tutorial on marbling with shaving foam here. I used some very pale colours to give a subtle effect but unfortunately the shimmer doesn't show up well in the photographs.
Next I stamped Pickle on to black card and embossed him with Cosmic Shimmer Detail White. Then I cut his head and paws out, making sure to cut up a little way between paws and head to make slots so he would 'hang' over the heart.

I used Distress Ink Broken China to colour around the edges of my tag, some Red Sheer Wrinkle Edge ribbon at the top and the addition of two small black cats that my Mum gave me. I have a black and white cat so making Pickle black and white seemed the right thing to do.
The sentiment is from the Paw Prints On Your Heart set, this made me think about triple embossing.

I cut a heart shape from some red card and used Cosmic Shimmer Ultra Thick Clear embossing powder to build up two layers of shine. Then I inked up the Paw Prints Lattice stamp with Archival Ink Jet Black before adding one more layer of UTEE to the heart, while this layer was still warm and soft I stamped the paw prints into it, this gave me my 'paw prints on my heart'.
The heart is stuck on with some red line double sided tape as it's very strong and I don't want the heart to drop off, it's quite stiff and a little heavy.
This might make a nice Valentine for a cat lover, it could easily be made with the dog stamps too.

Friday, 23 January 2015

Welcome to another CASE-ing Christmas post. Each week we have to CASE another team members card and this week it's my card that we're CASE-ing. For me this hasn't been so easy as I really loved the original (still do, but don't tell), thanks to the inspiration out there in blogland I decided to go for hats and retain the sketch.

The original had snowflakes which are my favourite thing from winter, they are so pretty and delicate. If I'm out in the snow I always wear a hat so I suppose they almost go together.
For the images, I have drawn them with a fineliner pigment pen and then coloured them in with alcohol markers. Each hat is slightly different, two have pompoms and one has a bell sewn on. Each image square has been matted on red card to give it a border.
The backing paper is made using some tiny snowflake stamps and a red ink pad, stamping randomly all over the paper. This is matted on some more red card and then on to a large white DL card blank.
The greeting is die cut from gold mirri card using some Joanna Sheen Signature dies. I tried red and white but they both got lost on the background so I went for gold to match the bell.
It would be lovely if you would join us at CASE-ing Christmas and it will help you build up a stash of cards ready for the festive season. This is the last week that we have candy so don't miss a chance to win.

Wednesday, 21 January 2015

This time in The Male Room we are looking for anything masculine created in shades of blue. For me this whole card started with a new mask/stencil from Memory Box, called Style.
I wanted to use my new mask and thought it would make a great sky if I only used half of it, so I masked off the lower half with some copy paper and got out my trusty Distress Inks. Working with Broken China first I inked over my mask, then added a little Faded Jeans around the outside.
I removed the mask and gently coloured the lower half with Broken China. Once happy with the look I went around the outside of the image with Faded Jeans to draw the eye to the centre.
The main image is a stamp from a set called Down By The Seaside by Inkadinkado, this set has been in my stash for at least six months waiting to be used on some scrapbook pages....it's still waiting! I have used Archival Ink Cobalt to stamp the image in the centre of the beach scene.

The tiny shells are made with air dry clay and a silicone mould of seashells. The finished card is an A6 size so you can tell the shells are tiny. I haven't painted them, just left them white as they dried.
The image is mounted on a layer of dark blue and then on to a white card blank that has been distressed with Broken China.
Please come and join us at The Male Room with your creations, we would love to see you there.

Tuesday, 20 January 2015

Today's project is for Top Tip Tuesday, I was lucky enough to win a guest designer spot with them, the challenge theme this time is Something New. You don't have to leave a crafting tip to enter, but if you do you could win a top tipper prize.
I have chosen to use some heart die cuts from Stix2 which are new to me, the scalloped heart die is also something unused until now.

The box card is made from one sheet of Stix2 White Stardust Glitter Card, also new to me. Cut the card to measure 8 inches by 4 inches x 2 pieces. Score each piece at 1 inch , 2 inches, 6 inch and 7 inches.
Die cut the heart in the centre panel of one card. Fold along the score lines. The inside back has been covered with a piece of card stamped with a script stamp and embossed in silver. I did this as a separate piece just incase it wasn't perfect, it's fixed in with double sided tape.

Once the inside back had been decorated I then cut a 6 inch long piece of acetate, 3/4 inch wide. The hearts are coloured with an alcohol marker and the inner heart is covered with red glitter.
To get this to hang in the right place the top edges of the outer heart are stuck to the acetate with red line tape. After sticking the heart on I lined it up with the centre of the opening and then stuck it to the very edge of the card, in the area that will be joined to the back. This is the first time I've tried this and I have to admit I made a dummy run with copy paper to see if it would work. I am pleased to say it did, so this would have to be my tip...try it out on rough card or paper so you don't ruin your good stock.
The heart on the outside is from the centre of another die cut, there are 15 hearts in a pack and they are cut from firm card, it's stuck on with a foam pad.
Once the acetate was in place I stuck the front and back together along the outside inch panel only. To decorate the outside edges I have used two different widths of red line tape and covered them with red glitter.
The card will fold flat for posting and fits in a standard C6 envelope so no extra cost either. Stix2 products are available from your local craft shop so pop along and see what you can find.
Don't forget to go over to Top Tip Tuesday to see what everyone else has made and see what great tips they are sharing.

Monday, 19 January 2015

Pickle is my third project for Creative Expressions this month. This lovely little cat is in just that, a pickle! hanging on a rope over something interesting like a fish pond.
With postal restrictions as they are now I chose to make a one layer card with no embellishments, this way it will go as a basic letter at no extra cost. I have also made it with more of a masculine feel to it by using browns.
The base card is 5 3/4 inches square with the edges coloured dark brown with Archival Ink Coffee.
I have worked my image on a piece of Coconut White card cut to 5 3/4 inches. I have trimmed it to fit once finished, this allows for any slight off centre stamping to be corrected. So it's not strictly one layer but it saves messing up a card blank if I make a mistake.
I have also cut a mask, slightly larger than the card, of a paw print. I had to draw and cut the large pad by hand but I have used a Spellbinder die oval for the four small pads.

With the card fixed to my mat with masking tape I then fixed the mask at the top over the card, this way I can lift it up and take a look at the card when I need to. I have covered the holes I'm not using with scrap paper while I work so I don't leave dirty marks where I don't want them. (Especially if I drop a stamp by accident)
The stamp I have used for the small pads is Kitten Treats inked up with Archival Ink Coffee. Each pad has also been coloured in with Distress Ink Brushed Corduroy.

Pickle has been stamped with the same ink to appear in the large pad of the paw. I have also stamped him on a sticky note that I no longer need to keep and without re-inking too, he's going to be a mask so he doesn't need to be perfect. Cut out the sticky note and cover up the card image while colouring in the pad with DI and Pickle will stay nice and clean.
Pickle is coloured with watercolour pencils in an effort to give him a ginger tom type look. The rope is coloured with a different brown.
Each corner of the white card is punched with a small paw print. To finish off the card I have stamped with Distress Ink Old Paper using a paw stamp from stash, to make sure it was pale each stamping was second generation (stamped on scrap and then on the card without re-inking). I have mounted the card on to the coloured blank with double sided tape, making sure to avoid the corners so it won't show through the punch holes. The sentiment is from the Paws-itively Great set stamped in Archival Coffee and Clear Embossed with Cosmic Shimmer powder.

Thursday, 15 January 2015

Today is some mid month inspiration for CraftyHazelnut's Christmas Challenge Extra. Our challenge is for Christmas creations, not just cards. With this image I am 'stocking up' for Christmas by adding another card to my collection. It really takes the worry away at Christmas knowing I have already made the cards, it leaves time to create other things too.

This image is called Stocking Line from Bugaboo Digi Stamps.
I have printed on to plain white card, then I covered the image with some double sided sticky sheet. After removing the top cover I sprinkled clear glitter all over the image.
Then using alcohol markers I have coloured the image through the glitter, this gives a sparkly image but I must say I think I prefer to colour my card and then glitter, it was a technique that I had seen and wanted to try for myself. This may be of more use if you were colouring an image that could be damaged by the markers, having a layer of very thin plastic between the image and the pens would protect it and you would still be able to add colour.
The image panel has been mounted on some backing paper from stash, I've had it so long I can't remember where it came from, but it has little stockings all over it. At each end of the line I have added a tiny gold square embellishment instead of a brad. In opposite corners I have added a small gold holly leaf peel off and coloured it in with Stardust pens. It's a simple card but with lots of sparkle.
It may seem crazy to be making Christmas cards already but it really does help build up your stock if you make one or two a month, you get time to spend on each one rather than having to batch make to produce enough in November. Come and join us, we have lots of inspiration on CraftyHazelnut's Christmas Challenge Extra.

Monday, 12 January 2015

Welcome to another pet based project for Creative Expressions, this week we have some little treat boxes for you.

The boxes are from a local craft shop and come ready to decorate, fold and fill. I have put a one pound coin here so you can see the size.

Stamp one side using Archival Ink Coffee and the background stamp Kitten Treats. If you stamp the back of the box with this pattern you can hide the fact that the ends are not completely covered when you fold the box shut.

Using the single stamp Best Friends mask off the dog and ink the stamp with Archival Coffee.

Make sure you remove the masking tape BEFORE you stamp the box.

Stamp the second box back with Paw Print Lattice with the same ink.

Mask off the cat this time and stamp the dog onto the box.

Fill the boxes with dry treats, fold in the flaps at the ends and tie up with Bakers Twine. Stamp two pieces of Kraft card with sentiments and die cut. Using foam pads mount these tags on the front of the boxes and your gift is ready.

I just wanted to tell you about these wipes. Yes they are more expensive than supermarket wipes but have a look at this one, it's been on the go for six projects over a period of two weeks and it's still wet!
I have kept it in a sandwich bag when not in use and even though I've cleaned countless stamps with it it still works. They even work on flake and glitter glue covered stamps!
I am what I would call a thrifty crafter and would never have gone for these before, but now I've tried them I am a definite convert.

Friday, 9 January 2015

Welcome to my first project for CASE-ing Christmas, we are a new challenge making Christmas cards by CASE-ing selected cards each week. For this month only we have CANDY each week, so please pop over and take a look, we would love you to join us.
This card is based on Pat's lovely card, I chose to use the colours and the sketch and I love snowflakes! To try and match the gorgeous colours of her flower I used Distress Inks Broken China and Dusty Concorde to colour the edge of my white card blank.
The backing card is Cryogen White, it has a subtle sparkle to it that is perfect for snowflakes, run through an A4 embossing folder Snowflake Lattice by Creative Expressions. Each snowflake has a tiny dot of Sakura Stardust clear in the middle.
The tag is purple pearl card mounted on a layer of silver mirri card. My centre piece is a snowflake die cut in Cryogen White with Spellbinder Ironwork Motifs with tiny clear gems on the end of each arm.

There is a silver Frosty Border by Memory Box stuck under the snowflake which is mounted on a foam pad, there is also a small silver snowflake cut from the border die stuck in the middle of the white snowflake, this also has a tiny gem on it.
The greeting is a tiny peel off as I couldn't find a stamp that small in my stash. It is stuck on to a tiny label cut with an XCut die, mounted on foam and purple gems stuck over the holes at either end.
I have thoroughly enjoyed CASE-ing Pat's card and I hope she likes it, I'm really looking forward to the next one. At least this way I will have lots of great cards by Christmas so I can spend more time on decorations and baking. Come along and join us at CASE-ing Christmas and build up your stash too.

Wednesday, 7 January 2015

New Year greetings from The Male Room. This fortnight we have a 'New Beginnings' theme, it could be a new job, house, car or adventure for a man or boy. My card is for a friends nephew who is off again on his continuing adventures in the southern hemisphere.

The globe and plane are X-Cut dies that are my bargain sale find. The plane actually flies around the globe, it's stuck to a bar that is fixed by a brad to the globe, somewhere in Mexico! I have had to add a little foam pad under the globe to stop the plane dropping to the bottom when the card is standing up but it does still move across the top.
The backing paper is a map scrapbook page that just looked right for this, mounted on a blank white 7x5 card that has had the edges coloured with Gathered Twigs Distress ink.
The sentiment is a stamp by Chocolate Baroque from a set called Artistic Affirmations, stamped in Archival Ink Coffee and Cosmic Shimmer Clear embossed.
There is a ship in this set too so I shall have to make another card and find someone who is going off on a cruise. I liked these dies when I saw them, really liked them when they were on sale, but now I know they move I love them!
Please come and join us at The Male Room with your creations, we have lots of inspiration for you on the challenge blog to get you started.

Monday, 5 January 2015

Welcome to my first project of 2015 for Creative Expressions. This month we have some cute cats and dogs to show you.
This was a little outside my comfort zone, I don't make cute very often, but thanks to a brainstorming session with my crafting buddies I now have a series of projects for the rest of the month.
This one is a very easy card to make, with some stamping and colouring it comes together very quickly.

Begin with an A4 sheet of Foundations Taupe card, fold the ends to the middle to create a gatefold card. Lay the stamp on the card in the centre to work out how big the opening of kennel will need to be.
To get the arch even at the top I drew round an oval die, then drew straight lines from the widest point to the bottom. This will need to cut hand.

To shape the roof mark the centre at 6.5 inches and the sides at 4.75 inches, draw a line from the sides to the middle, check that you are happy with the pitch of the roof and cut.
On the offcut measure 5/8 inch from the shaped edge and cut a parallel strip for the barge boards. Colour these brown with an alcohol marker.
Using Tree Bark background stamp and Archival Ink Coffee stamp the front of your card, do this with the flaps open so you don't accidentally stamp the inside too.

Fix the barge boards to the top of the kennel with foam pads. Using the Hope You Have A Doggone Good Day! sentiment from Paws-itively Great stamp on a red scrap of card in Archival Coffee and clear emboss.
Die cut the red card with a Spellbinder die, Curved Rectangles, using the smallest one. Attach this to the card flap on ONE SIDE ONLY.
Stamp Alfie in Archival Ink Coffee and clear emboss on a piece of Taupe card. Colour Alfie using paint, pencils or alcohol markers and allow to dry. Fussy cut the dog ready to go on the inside back of the card, using Cosmic Shimmer PVA dries clear stick Alfie to the card.
I have found it easier to do it this way, it saves ruining the card if the stamping goes wrong, as long as you use the same colour card it doesn't really show that much. There is room inside to write your greeting hidden behind the flaps.

Saturday, 3 January 2015

I like to make projects other than cards, so this great calendar from Stix2 was just what the craft doctor ordered, you can get these at your local Craft shop. It's a hanging calendar that you can decorate yourself, the pages are approximately 9.5 inches square which means you can get a great 8x8 layout on them. Layouts that you can remove and keep after the calendar is finished or make for a friend or family member to keep.

I have used papers from my stash to back my layout as well as to decorate the page that holds the dates, I found some papers that had almost the same shade of blue in them as the printed page.
I have also stamped a white snowflake on the date page to tie the top and bottom together by theme.
The photographs were taken in January two years ago on a very long school run, it took twenty minutes to go three miles but over an hour to get back! ice under snow and lots of crazy drivers, but it did look pretty.
The small photo is mounted on foam tape on the bottom and both sides, this leaves the top open to tuck a small tag inside where I can write a little message or this month's birthday list.

The quote is from a poem by Sara Coleridge and just seemed to go so well with the pictures. It's printed on white card in turquoise by changing the text colour before printing, then die cut with a Spellbinder die and inked with Distress Ink Broken China before taking the die off the shape.
I have added some small turquoise gems to the snowflakes to add a little sparkle.
Next month is mauve so I will have to see what I can come up with for that one.

Thursday, 1 January 2015

Welcome to a New Year with House Of Cards. Our format has changed a little, but it now gives you the chance to see all the DT cards at the beginning of the challenge, with a reminder each week through the month so you'll never be stuck for inspiration.
This month we have a Glittered Blues theme, you can make any style card you wish as long as you stick with our theme. I have made a Vintage style card with a glittered border.

To make the glittered border I have used some double sided sticky sheet and a piece of lace. Lay the lace over the sticky sheet and sprinkle on some mink coloured glitter, remove the excess glitter and then remove the lace. Using a contrasting colour, teal, sprinkle over the remaining sticky sheet to fill in all the gaps. Trim the edges to make a tidy glittered strip. (Top Tip Tuesday's Tip)

The main image is a free digi from the Graphics Fairy, they have lots of gorgeous vintage images to download. This one has been lightened and had the edges faded out to remove some writting that I didn't want.
The frame is cut with a Spellbinder die from gold satin card and tarnished with brown acrylic paint. The backing paper is one I had from Eclectic Anthology for a previous project, the colours are perfect for this challenge, I have printed it off a little paler than it was originally.
The swirl is die cut with a Sizzix Bigz die in dark blue pearl card and decorated with small white sakura flowers edged with Distress Ink Chipped Sapphire, then finished with some small pen strokes using a Stardust clear pen and a tiny teal gem in the middle.

So come and join us at House Of Cards for the start of a great new year of card creations.
If you like to make Christmas cards there is a new weekly challenge starting on the 2nd of January called CASE-ing Christmas and for the first month there is CANDY every week!!

Christmas is never far away in my house and if you come and join us at CraftyHazelnut's Christmas Challenge Extra you can keep it with you too. We are a monthly challenge that embraces anything made for Christmas, not just cards.
We are sponsored by Bugaboo Digi Stamps so you will find this image there, it's called Make It Snappy Merry Christmas Ornaments. There are lots of very cute designs as well as some stunning silhouettes to work with.
This image has been printed on thin acetate and the baubles have been glittered from behind. The snowflakes also have a little clear glitter to give them some sparkle. To attach acetate to card can be a bit of a nuisance as most adhesives show through, for this one I chose to use some double sided sticky sheet, that way the glue is all over so it's not so visible.

The card the acetate is mounted on has a blue marble effect which lends itself very nicely to the winter theme. This is then attached to a blue pearl card blank so there is sparkle and shine all over this card. The holly berries are red gems stuck on top of the acetate and the small stars have tiny clear gems stuck on them.
This use of a digi is great if, like me, your colouring skills need improvement as not a single pen has been used.
Come and join us at CraftyHazelnut's Christmas Challenge Extra with your seasonal makes and get ahead for next Christmas.

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About Me

I've been crafting for as long as I can remember, thanks to the encouragement of my family. I'm a freelance demonstrator and designer based in Norfolk, UK. I am also on a few design teams and get to work for some great suppliers in craft shops and at shows.